Cricket India
India could have batted well in the death overs! They could have utilized the batting powerplay to their advantage! Dhoni could have thrown the ball to somebody else other than Nehra! Nehra could have bowled the yorkers, given the situation of the game! A lot of ‘could have’s nag our thoughts when we think about the last game which appeared to be so near yet so far, everything, however, only in hindsight.
First of all let me convey my condolences to the man who has endured such feelings in the recollective past of his long career and is continuing to do so – Sachin Tendulkar. I got a forward message that read: “When I returned back after having a shower, I was shocked to see the entire team in the dressing room – Sachin.” Let’s not get sceptic about the genuineness of the source but let’s give it a thought. How many times has the rest of the team let Tendulkar down especially after he has scored a century? 13 out of 48 times says statistics disregarding the tied game against England and the one which got washed out against the same team in 2002. This time it was even worse. The score line which read 267 for 1 and then 296 all out doesn’t give any reason for the team to smile.
Dhoni got it wrong when he believed Yusuf Pathan was the one who could make the most of the Batting Powerplay. Now, how many times in this tournament the batting powerplay has gone in favour of the bowling team like it did on Saturday’s game?
In quality engineering terms it is not just the strength and rigidity of the component that matters but also the fit and finish. Picking a balanced side is more important than picking the best side. Kohli and Gambhir are better than Raina but one can’t help getting the feeling if they are more or less similar kind of batsmen. Kohli never got a look in whenever the top three scored big, which has a lot to explain than thinking if it was just a shuffle in the batting order.
It was batting in the last 12 to 14 overs that cost us the game let alone the over Nehra bowled to Peterson that revived the hopes of the Proteas.
Raina has had the reputation of milking the field restrictions later in the game and seems quite the apt batsman to bat in the death overs. So going a step further, I would even say Dhoni must decide between Kohli and Gambhir for the No. 3 slot, for, there must be someone in the batting order who is capable of capitalizing on the start and carrying on the momentum in the end overs. Given the position (No. 3), Kohli will win the duel convincingly. But we will have to wait and see if this happens before it is too late.
Tags: Cricket, Cricket India, ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, India, Indian Cricket, Sachin Tendulkar, World Cup
